Aseptic filling bottle

ABSTRACT

An aseptic filling bottle that can suppress buckling of its bottom portion even at the time of refrigerated storage. A bottom portion of the aseptic filling bottle includes a grounding portion to be placed in contact with a surface on which the bottle is put, a central portion that projects to an inner side of the bottle as its extends radially inwards from the grounding portion, a dome portion which projects to more inner side of the bottle than the central portion, and a receded groove portion that extends radially from the dome portion. A bottom inner side projection height of the central portion at a dome portion side circumferential edge thereof is set greater than a half of a height from the grounding portion to a border between the body portion and the bottom portion. The receded groove portion, at a position corresponding to the radial center position of the grounding portion, has a depth ranging from 5.0 mm to 10.0 mm.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a bottle for aseptic filling having aspout (mouth) portion, a shoulder portion, a body portion and a bottomportion.

BACKGROUND ART

As a method of filling a plastic bottle with liquid, there is an aseptic(germfree) filling method which fills a bottle with liquid under anaseptic condition. With this aseptic filling method, it is possible toavoid exposure of the plastic bottle to a high temperature. Thus, aplastic bottle filled by such aseptic filling method (to be referred toas “aseptic filling bottle” hereinafter) can have low heat resistance,and can be formed as a thin and lightweight bottle.

However, when a bottle is formed thin and lightweight, there arises aproblem of corresponding reduction in its strength. Thus, in a casewhere its inside is filled with carbonated beverage for instance, riseof inner pressure occurs due to outgassing of carbonate inside, whichmay cause reversal (buckling) of the bottom portion. With occurrence ofsuch buckling, the bottle can no longer stand on its own, thus makingits distribution impossible. To cope with problem, Japanese UnexaminedPatent Application No. 2012-140156 Publication Document (PatentDocument 1) proposed a bottle that can suppress occurrence of bottomportion buckling by provision, at the center of the bottom portion, of adome-shaped receded portion receded to the inner side.

BACKGROUND ART DOCUMENT Patent Document

Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No.2012-140156 Publication Document

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problem to be Solved by Invention

A plastic bottle filled with contents may not only be stored at a roomtemperature or in refrigeration, but also may be stored at an elevatedtemperature or stored under refrigeration, with heating or freezing ofits contents. However, in the case of such heated storage orrefrigerated storage, expansion occurs in the contents due toheating/refrigerating, which can cause buckling of the bottom portion.Moreover, in the case of adoption of such arrangement as proposed byPatent Document 1, there was another problem of difficulty of weightreduction.

Therefore, there is a need for an aseptic filling bottle that cansuppress buckling of its bottom portion even at the time of heatedstorage or refrigerated storage.

Solution

An aseptic filling bottle relating to the present invention, the asepticfilling bottle including a spout portion, a shoulder portion, a bodyportion and a bottom portion;

wherein the bottom portion includes a grounding portion to be placed incontact with a surface on which the bottle is put, a central portionthat projects to an inner side of the bottle as its extends radiallyinwards from the grounding portion, a dome portion which projects tomore inner side of the bottle than the central portion, and a recededgroove portion that extends radially from the dome portion;

wherein a bottom inner side projection height of the central portion ata dome portion side circumferential edge thereof is set greater than ahalf of a height from the grounding portion to a border between the bodyportion and the bottom portion; and

wherein the receded groove portion, at a position corresponding to theradial center position of the grounding portion, has a depth rangingfrom 5.0 mm to 10.0 mm.

Based on a finding made by the present inventors, by not forming thecenter of the central portion alone in the form of a dome projecting tothe bottle inner side, but by configuring the central portion entirely,with keeping the dome shape at its center, from the dome portion sidecircumferential edge to the grounding portion to project to the bottleinner side as it extends to the radial inner side, the strength of thebottle bottom portion can be further increased. According to a furtherfinding made by the present inventors, when the maximum projectionheight of the central portion, namely, its projection height to thebottle inner side at the dome portion side circumferential edge, is setgreater than a half of the height of the bottom portion, the effect ofstrength increase can be further enhanced.

In addition, with the above-described configuration, according to thearrangements devised by the present inventors, i.e. the arrangement offorming the central portion to project to the bottle inner side as itextends radially inwards from the grounding portion and the furtherarrangement of setting the projection height to the bottle inner side atthe dome portion side circumferential edge greater than a half of theheight of the bottom portion (i.e. the height to the border between thebody portion and the bottom portion), the strength of the bottom portioncan be enhanced effectively. With this, the buckling of the bottomportion at the time of refrigerated storage can be effectivelysuppressed.

Moreover, the receded groove portion formed radially from the centralportion provides further reinforcement of the bottom portion, and sincethe receded groove portion has a depth ranging from 5.0 mm to 10.0 mm ata position corresponding to the radial center position of the groundingportion, the strength of the bottom portion can be even more enhanced.In addition, with this depth setting, buckling of the bottom portion canbe suppressed also even when the bottle is heated.

Next, preferred embodiments of the aseptic filling bottle relating tothe present invention will be explained. It is understood, however, thatthe range of the present invention is not limited by the preferredembodiments described below.

According to one preferred embodiment, the central portion is formedarcuate.

With this arrangement, by forming arcuate the central portion to beprojected to the bottle inner side, compared with an arrangement offorming the central portion linear from the grounding portion to thedome portion circumferential edge, pressure applied to the centralportion can be made uniform, so that the strength of the bottom portioncan be increased even more effectively. With this, the buckling of thebottom portion at the time of refrigerated storage can be suppressedeven more effectively.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the receded groove portionextends from the dome portion to a circumferential edge on more radialouter side than the grounding portion.

With this arrangement, as the receded groove portion for reinforcing thestrength of the bottom portion is caused to extend long from the domeportion to the circumferential edge, the strength of the bottom portioncan be even more increased.

According to a further preferred embodiment, in the body portion, thereis formed at least one receded rib which extends around acircumferential face of the body portion.

With the above-described arrangement, volumetric expansion of contentsat the time of refrigerated storage can be absorbed to a certain extentby the receded rib provided in the body portion. Thus, the force appliedto the appropriate portion due to the volumetric expansion can bereduced, so that the buckling of the bottom portion at the time ofrefrigerated storage can be suppressed effectively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of an aseptic filling bottle,

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a bottom portion of the aseptic fillingbottle,

FIG. 3 shows a III-III section in FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 shows a IV-IV section in FIG. 2.

MODES OF EMBODYING THE INVENTION

Embodiments of an aseptic filling bottle relating to the presentinvention will be explained with reference to the drawings. An asepticfilling bottle 1 relating to this embodiment includes a spout (mouth)portion 2, a shoulder portion 4, a body portion 5 and a bottom portion6. The bottom portion 6 includes a grounding portion 10 that comes intocontact with a surface on which the bottle is put, a central portion 12that progressively projects to the inner side of the bottle main body asit extends from the grounding portion 10 to the center of the bottomportion 6, a dome portion 13 that projects more to the bottle inner sidethan the central portion 12, and a receded groove portion 14 thatextends radially from the dome portion 13. The central portion 12 isconfigured such that a bottle inner side projection height D1 of thiscentral portion 12 at a dome portion side circumferential edge 12 athereof is set greater than a half D2 of a height measured from thegrounding portion 10 to the border between the body portion 5 and thebottom portion 6. Moreover, the receded groove portion 14, at a positioncorresponding to the radial center position of the grounding portion 10,has a depth D3 ranging from 5.0 mm to 10.0 mm. With these arrangements,buckling of the bottom portion at the time of refrigerated storage canbe effectively suppressed. Next, the aseptic filling bottle relating tothis embodiment will be explained in details.

The aseptic filling bottle 1 relating to this embodiment (to be referredto simply as “bottle 1” hereinafter), as shown in FIG. 1, includes thespout portion 2 as a spout or a mouse for dispensing liquid and a bottlemain body portion 3 to be filled with the liquid. The bottle main bodyportion 3 includes the shoulder portion 4, the body portion 5 and thebottom portion 6. The shoulder portion 4 is a portion whose diameterincreases progressively toward a bottom face direction continuous withthe spout portion 2 and has a shape formed of combination of polygonalpanels of various shapes. The body portion 5 is a cylindrical portioncontinuous with the shoulder portion 4. The bottom portion 6 is aportion in the bottle main body portion 3, where the circumferentialface of the bottle main body portion 3 has its diameter progressivelydecreasing toward the bottom face. Namely, in the instant embodiment,the position of the border between the body portion 5 and the bottomportion 6 is a position in the height direction where the diameter ofthe bottle main body portion 3 begins to decrease toward the bottomface.

Here, the bottle 1 relating to the instant embodiment is a bottle foruse in an aseptic (germfree) filling method for filling liquid inside abottle under an aseptic condition. The aseptic filling method allowsavoiding exposure of a plastic bottle to a high temperature. So, theheat resistance performance of the bottle 1 can be low and this bottleis formed as a thin and lightweight bottle. The bottle 1 can be moldedintegrally, e.g. by the biaxial stretch blow molding method with using athermoplastic resin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethyleneterephthalate, etc. as a principal material.

The bottle 1 relating to this embodiment, as will be described below, isconfigured to withstand filled contents expansion when the filled(charged) liquid is frozen. Thus, as contents to be filled in the bottle1, e.g. non-carbonated beverage such as mineral water, tea, soft drink,or juice, which may be stored under a refrigerated state areparticularly preferred. However, the bottle may be used suitably alsowith a carbonated drink (beverage) or a food article such as sauce.

The body portion 5 is of a straight body type and in this body portion5, there are formed a plurality of receded ribs 7 that extend around itscircumferential face. Each receded rib 7 has a shape receded or concaveto the inner side in the radial direction (the direction toward a centeraxis X of the bottle 1 and along its horizontal direction) and the widthand the depth of each receded rib 7 are formed approximately constantover the entire circumference. These receded ribs 7 function not only asreinforcing ribs for reinforcing the lateral face strength of the bottle1, but also as portions extendible in the vertical upper direction ofthe bottle 1 for absorbing possible volumetric expansion of the contentsliquid at the time of refrigerated storage.

Incidentally, as such receded ribs 7, it will suffice to provide atleast one at any position of the body portion 5. Preferably, two or moresuch ribs 7 will be formed in the body portion 5. More preferably, atleast one will be formed at a lower part of the body portion and aplurality will be formed at an upper part of the body portion.Incidentally, if at least one is formed at the body portion lower partand the body portion upper part respectively, this will allow smooth andeasy extension in the vertical upper direction of the bottle 1 forabsorbing the volumetric expansion of the contents liquid at the time ofrefrigerated storage. So, the bottle 1 can stand straight on its ownwithout tilting and also no deformation or break of the bottle willoccur, either. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, advantageously, the recededrib 7 may be formed to be receded/concave to the radially inner side andalong the entire circumference.

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, the bottom portion 6 has an annulargrounding portion 10 to be placed on (in contact with) a surface onwhich the bottle is put such as a desk surface and includes also acircumferential edge portion 11 which is a portion on the radially outerside of the grounding portion 10, a central portion 12 that is aradially inner side portion relative to the grounding portion 10 and adome portion 13 that is provided at the central portion 12 and thatprojects to more bottle inner side than the central portion 12. Thecentral portion 12 has such a shape that projects to the inner side (theupper side in FIG. 1) of the bottle 1 as it extends to radially innerside from the grounding portion 10 and is formed arcuate from thegrounding portion 10 to the dome portion 13. Further, as shown in FIG.3, the central portion 12 is configured such that the bottle inner sideprojection height D1 of this central portion 12 at the dome portion sidecircumferential edge 12 a thereof is set greater than the half D2 of theheight measured from the grounding portion 10 to the border 6 a betweenthe body portion 5 and the bottom portion 6. Moreover, the dome portion13 is provided in a trapezoidal shape as seen in its vertical section.

In the bottom portion 6, there are formed a plurality (eight in thisembodiment) of the receded groove portions 14 extending from the domeportion 13 to the circumferential edge portion 11 equidistantly in aradial pattern. With these receded groove portions 14, the strength ofthe bottom portion 6 is increased. With the provision of these recededgroove portions 14, the circumferential edge portion 11 and the centralportion 12 are divided into a plurality (eight in the presentembodiment) in the circumferential direction (the direction around thecenter axis X of the bottle 1). As shown in FIG. 4, an end portion 14 aof each receded groove portion 14 on the side of the circumferentialedge portion 11 extends to the border 6 a between the body portion 5 andthe bottom portion 6. Further, preferably, the receded groove portion 14is configured such that the receded groove portion 14, at a positioncorresponding to the radial center position of the grounding portion 10,has the depth D3 ranging from 5.0 mm to 10.0 mm (6.6 mm in thisembodiment). If it exceeds 10.0 mm, the depth will be excessive toinvite impairment of the outer appearance of the bottle 1 or to inviteneed for design change of some other portion.

As described above, in the bottle 1, the arrangement of not only formingthe dome portion 13 at the center of the bottom portion 6, but alsoconfiguring the entire central portion 12 from the dome portion 13 tothe grounding portion 10 to project to the bottle inner side asextending to the radially inner side, the arrangement of setting theprojection height at the dome portion side circumferential edge 13 agreater than the half of the height of the bottom portion 6, and thearrangement of forming arcuate from the grounding portion 10 to the domeportion side circumferential edge 13 a together serve to effectivelyincrease the strength of the bottom portion 6. Moreover, the strength ofthe bottom portion 6 is further increased by the receded groove portions14 that extend from the dome portion 13 to the circumferential edgeportion 11. With this, there is ensured strength sufficient toeffectively suppress buckling of the bottom portion 6 due to volumetricexpansion of the contents at time of refrigerated storage.

Table 1 below shows comparison of three-times tests of a conventionalbottle and the bottle 1 relating to the present embodiment. As shown,with the conventional bottle, unlike the bottle 1 relating to thepresent embodiment, the depth of the portion corresponding to the depthD3 shown in FIG. 3 (the depth at the position of the receded grooveportion 14 corresponding to the radial center of the grounding portion10) is below 5 mm.

TABLE 1 Embodiment Conventional filling amount (ml) 650 490 N = 1 PassPass N = 2 Pass Failure N = 3 Pass Failure Pass: The bottle standsstably after refrigeration. Failure: The bottle does not stand stablyafter refrigeration.

As can be seen from Table 1, the bottle 1 relating to the presentembodiment is more stable in the case of the large-volume bottle havinga filling amount of 650 ml, this means the suppression of buckling ofthe bottom portion 6. In this way, it may be understood that with thebottle 1 relating to the present embodiment, strength sufficient tosuppress the buckling of the bottom portion 6 due to volumetricexpansion of the contents at time of refrigerated storage (and alsoheated storage) is ensured.

Other Embodiments

Lastly, other embodiments of the aseptic filling bottle relating to thepresent invention will be explained. Incidentally, thearrangements/configurations disclosed in the respective followingembodiments can be used in any combination with thearrangements/configurations disclosed in the other embodiments unless nocontradiction occurs resulting therefrom.

(1) In the foregoing embodiment, there was explained an example in whichthe body portion 5 is configured as a straight body type. However, thepresent invention is not limited thereto. For instance, the body portion5 may be provided with a constricted portion, in addition to thestraight body portion.

(2) In the foregoing embodiment, between the respective receded grooveportions 14, a receded small groove portion smaller than the recededgroove portion 14 may be provided additionally from the groundingportion 10 to the circumferential edge portion 11. With this, thestrength of the bottom portion can be further increased.

(3) Further, regarding the other arrangements/configurations too, it isunderstood that the embodiments disclosed in this detailed disclosureare only illustrative in all respects thereof, and the scope of thepresent invention is not limited thereto. One skilled in the art couldeasily understand that appropriate modifications will be possible withinthe scope not departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, itis as a matter of course that other embodiments with such modificationsnot departing form the spirit of the invention are also included in thescope of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is applicable to e.g. a plastic bottle filled withcontents liquid by an aseptic filling method.

DESCRIPTION OF SIGNS

1: aseptic filling bottle

2: spout portion

4: shoulder portion

5: body portion

6: bottom portion

7: receded rib

10: grounding portion

11: circumferential edge

12: central portion

13: dome portion

14: receded groove portion

D1: projection height of central portion at dome portion sidecircumferential edge to bottle inner side

D2: a half of height from grounding portion to border between bodyportion and bottom portion

D3: height at position in receded groove portion corresponding to radialcenter of grounding portion

1. An aseptic filling bottle including a spout portion, a shoulderportion, a body portion and a bottom portion; wherein the bottom portionincludes a grounding portion to be placed in contact with a surface onwhich the bottle is put, a central portion that projects to an innerside of the bottle as its extends radially inwards from the groundingportion, a dome portion which projects to more inner side of the bottlethan the central portion, and a receded groove portion that extendsradially from the dome portion; wherein a bottom inner side projectionheight of the central portion at a dome portion side circumferentialedge thereof is set greater than a half of a height from the groundingportion to a border between the body portion and the bottom portion; andwherein the receded groove portion, at a position corresponding to theradial center position of the grounding portion, has a depth rangingfrom 5.0 mm to 10.0 mm.
 2. The aseptic filling bottle of claim 1,wherein the central portion is formed arcuate.
 3. The aseptic fillingbottle of claim 1, wherein the receded groove portion extends from thedome portion to a circumferential edge on more radial outer side thanthe grounding portion.
 4. The aseptic filling bottle of claim 1, whereinin the body portion, there is formed at least one receded rib whichextends around a circumferential face of the body portion.
 5. Theaseptic filling bottle of claim 2, wherein the receded groove portionextends from the dome portion to a circumferential edge on more radialouter side than the grounding portion.
 6. The aseptic filling bottle ofclaim 2, wherein in the body portion, there is formed at least onereceded rib which extends around a circumferential face of the bodyportion.
 7. The aseptic filling bottle of claim 3, wherein in the bodyportion, there is formed at least one receded rib which extends around acircumferential face of the body portion.
 8. The aseptic filling bottleof claim 5, wherein in the body portion, there is formed at least onereceded rib which extends around a circumferential face of the bodyportion.